The trend is still new, but indications are that consumers’ enthusiasm for personal video is growing rapidly. Three percent of U.S. mobile subscribers – or just under 8 million people – use their cell phones to take personal videos, according to Telephia.
This adoption rate for mobile video capture doubles to 6% among mobile subscribers who recently purchased a new handset, revealing a rapid upward trend.
The trend was further illuminated by Google’s $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube, which Telephia said validates the success and future potential of user-generated video content.
Telephia also determined that in the finely-diced category of recent handset buyers who take videos with their phones, the Motorola RAZR is the top handset choice by a wide margin, with a 21% share, followed by the Nokia 6101 (6%), Motorola E815, Sony Ericsson Z525 and the LG VX8100 (all at 3%).
The phenomenon is farther along in Europe. Among the six European countries Telephia measures, Italy and Spain secured the highest adoption rates at 15% and 14%, respectively, followed by the U.K. (12%) and Sweden (10%), France and Germany (both at 9%).
